


Satnav Woes

by BarPurple



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Rumbelle Secret Santa 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-09 22:36:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8915674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple
Summary: Modern technology is never easy for Beauty and her Beast.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notalwayslate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notalwayslate/gifts).



> for the prompt Have you lost your way?

Belle’s fingers tightened on the door handle of the caddy. Usually Rumple was a very good driver, but for this trip into the outside world Henry had installed a gizmo in the car and it was causing problems. As Henry had explained it to her ‘Tom’ was a talking map that would get them to their destination with ease. She’d been surprised when Rumple switched the machine on that it spoke in a voice eerily like the Blue Fairy. In hindsight Belle should have turned the damn thing off there and then, but Rumple had wanted to use it to make Henry happy.

The first problem had come half an hour into their journey when Tom insisted they made a left turn down a dead end farm track. Rumple had laughed it off telling Belle that Henry had warned him about the odd glitches that sometimes happened. He’d carefully turned the car around and set off in the right direction once more. Tom wasn’t happy with this and began insisting they _Make a legal U-turn at the next convenient moment._ They hadn’t and eventually the gizmo had petulantly recalculated their route. That had been an hour ago and Belle was getting increasingly concerned about Rumple’s blood pressure, (her own was also beginning to worry her), since Tom kept instructing increasingly dangerous turns; one of which if Rumple had followed it would have sent them off a bridge and into the river.  
With a frustrated curse Rumple pulled the car into a rest stop. Of course Tom had something to say about this unplanned halt.

_Have you lost your way? Please restate your destination._

Rumple balled his hands into fists and tried to calm himself by slowly counting to ten.

_Please speak clearly._

Rumple growled and a shimmer of magic swept over the infernal device. Now instead of a black plastic casing Tom had a snail shell.

“Erm, Rum?”

At the sound of Belle’s voice he opened his eyes and pulled a face at the slime dripping from the transformed satnav.

_You are off course. Rejoin the highway._

Rumple’s hand rose to his habitual fireball hurling position. Before he could torch the satnav, and possibly them in the process, Belle snatched Tom from the dashboard, grimacing because it was slimy and opened the car door. She threw Tom out on to the asphalt where it bounced twice before it landed in a broken heap of plastic and snail shell. Rumple heaved a deep sigh and waved his hand to clean up the slime the damn thing had left on Belle and the dashboard.

“Thank you sweetheart.”

“Tis no matter.”

The shared a laugh and a kiss before Belle asked; “Are we lost?”

“Very probably.”

She reached into her handbag and pulled out a roadmap.

“Good job I brought this then isn’t it?”

Rumple threw his head back and laughed, the first truly relaxed sound he’d made since they’d set out.

“My sweet Belle and her books save the day again.”

“Of course we are going to have to work out where we are before it will be any use.”

Rumple started the car and steered them back towards the highway.

“I did promise you and adventure, sweetheart.”

As the caddy drove back onto the blacktop a crow fluttered down beside the broken satnav and gave it a peck. It squawked and flew away when a very disgruntled voice said weakly; _Recalculating_


End file.
